Machine for packing merchandise in bags



March 2, 1937. A. F'. STAGMEIER MAQHINE FOR PACKJiNG MERCHANDISE IN BAGS Filed Feb l, 1932 9 Sham-.a-Shaai; 1

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' ATTORNEYS.

March 2, 1937.. A. F. STAGMEIER 7 MACHINE FOR PACKING MERCHANDISE IN BAGS Filed Feb. 1, 1932 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR:

ATTORNEYS March 2, 1937. A. F. STAGMEIER 2,072,654

I MACHINE FOR PACKING MERCHANDISE IN BAGS Filed Feb. 1, 1952 9 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEYS.

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March 2, 1937. A. F. STAGMEIER v MACHINE FOR PACKING MERCHANDISE IN BAGS Fi led Feb. 1, 1932 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 IWFIM INVENTOR: Arthur E fii'aj'meier;

,BY: v

ATTORNEYS.

March 2,1937. E ER 2,072,654

MACHINE FOR PACKING MERCHANDISE IN BAGS Filed Feb. 1, 1932 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 i W "WW INVENTOR 0 Arthur E Jitgmeien BY MM/QJA ATTORNEYS MarcH 2, 1937, I A. F. STAGMEIER 2,072,654 MACHINE FOR PACKING MERCHANDISE IN BAGS Filed Feb., 1, 1932 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 March 2, 1937.

A. F. STAGMEIER MACHINE FDR PACKING MERCHANDISE IN BAGS Filed Feb; 1, 1932 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 all INVENTOR: flr'Z /wr' FSZ'a mez'er.

ATTORNEYS,

March 2, 1937. $TAGME|ER 2,072,654

MACHINE FOR PACKING MERCHANDISE IN BAGS Filed Feb. 1, 1932 9 Sheets-Skeet 8 INVENTOR:

Ari/2w" E621 meier' BY: i M

ATTORNEYS.

March 2, 1937.

A. F. STAGMEIER MACHINE FOR PACKING MERCHANDISE IN BAGS Filed Feb. 1, 1932 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 III.

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Maw/9M- ATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 2, 1937 MACHINE roa PACKING MERCHANDISE m- BAG Arthur F. Stagmeier, Montclair, N. J., assignor,

by mesne assignments, to Tape-O-Matic Machine Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation Application February 1, 1932, Serial No. 590,105

8 Claims. 93-6) v details may be modified in various respects with- The invention relates to packing machines, and more particularly to machines for packing merchandise in bags.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a machine for automatically folding the top of the bag down on the body thereof after it has been filled with merchandise.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine which will apply tape to a bag thus in construction and operation, whose parts are rugged and which will not easily get out of order.

Other objects will beapparent from the following description and claims when considered with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the complete machine with parts broken away;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the rear part of the machine illustrating the bag folding mechanism; Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the forward part of the machine illustrating the tape applying mechanism .and being a continuation of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3 and being a continuation of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an outside view of the part of the machine containing the folding mechanism;

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 9 to 12, inclusive, illustrate diagrammatically the' operation of the folding mechanism;

Figs. 13 and 14 illustrate diagrammatically the operation of the tape. applying mechanism; and

Fig. 15 illustrates the appearance of 'the top of the bag ready for operation by the folding mechanism. a

In the following description and in the claims, various details will be identified by specific names for convenience, but they are intended to be as generic in their application as the art will permit. Like reference characters denote like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

in the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification, certain specific dis- I closure of the invention is made for purposes of explanation, but it 'wm be understood that the out departure from the broad aspect of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to Fig. 1, thefront of the machine is to the left of the figure, and the back of the machine is to the right, and the bags arefed through from right to left in the direction of the arrow. In Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5, however, the front of the machine is to the right and the bags are fed from left to right, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2.

The machine comprises in general a framework supporting a conveyor 2| and having a vertical standard 23 which adjustably supports an operating head 22. Y

The frame 20 comprises a plurality of legs 24 and a lower shelf 224. The legs 24 support the conveyor 2| which is'made up of a pair of-channels 21 and 28, as indicated in Figs. 7 and 8.

The conveyor 2| comprises a pair of chains 32 --mounted upon suitable sprockets, one of which is indicated by 3! (Fig. 1). These sprockets are mounted on suitable shafts journalled in the channel members 21 and 28, the shaft supporting the sprocket 3| being indicated by 29. The shaft 29 may be mounted on an adjustable member 229 which is secured to the end of the conveyor by an adjustable thumb nut 30 for adjusting the tension of the conveyor chains 32 in a manner well known in the art.

Connecting the chains 32 are a plurality of cross pieces 33 suitably spaced and in time with the folding mechanism, as will be described here inafter. Each cross member 33 hasa plate 34 attached thereto, each plate 34 having a rearguides 41 and a pair of lower guides 24! are provided (Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8). These guides are mounted upon suitable rods, indicated in general by 48 (Fig. 8), which are slidably mounted upon adjacent parts of the frame. Springs, indicated in general by 49, surround the rods 48 'to yieldably urge the guides 41 and 241 against the bags to center them with respect to the reg ister plates 34.

Slldably mounted upon the standards 23 is a I cross head 50. The cross head 50 (Figs. 4, 5, 6

and 8) comprises a center plate I50 and outer,

' motor 25.

plates I H and I02 which are disposed outside, of the guides 23. An adjusting screw 5| is threaded through the center plate I50 and is iournalled to the top plate I53 on the guides 23 (Fig. l) and is kept from moving vertically by the collars 02. A hand wheel 08 is mounted on the screw ii to adjust the height of the cross head 88.

Secured to the cross head 50 is a frame member 54 which is connected at its ends to the side plate 01 of the operating head 22. Two main cross rods 55 having shouldered ends clamp the frame member 54 to the cross head 50 and the parts of the cross head together by nuts 250. The main side frames 51 and 58 of the operating head22 are mounted upon these main cross rods 00.

Connected to the side plate 51 and to the outside of the cross head 50 is a frame member 56 which supports a bearing member I56 (Fig. 8) for the vertical drive shaft 6i. This forms a part of the driving mechanism for the entire machine which will now be described.

Mounted upon the shelf 224 (Fig. 1) is a drive This drive motor is belted to the reduction gearing 28 which drives a sprocket 4|. Sprocket 4i drives a chain 39 which passes over sprockets 40. and 43 which drive the conveyor and operating head, respectively. The chain 39 also passes over an idle sprocket 42 which is adlustably mounted to take up the slack in the chain.

Mounted on the same shaft with sprocket 43 is a bevel gear 44 which drives bevel gear. 45 which is mounted upon the vertical shaft 8|. This shaft is journalled in a fixed vertical position in a frame member 48 (Fig. 8).

Keyed to the shaft Si by a feather key-way engagement is the bevel gear 82 which is mounted in fixed vertical position between the parts of frame I08. Meshing with bevel gear 62 is bevel gear 83 which drives shaft journaled in the side plates 51 and 58, which is the main drive shaft for the operating head 22. 1

The feather key-way connection between sha 8| and gear 82 permits vertical adjustment of the operating head 22 by the rotation of the hand wheel 03. 7

Considering now the construction of the operating head 22, as above stated it comprises a pair of side plates 51 and 08 which are mounted upon the main cross rods 08. Between these side plates is mounted the folding mechanism shown in Figs 2 and 4 and the tape applyin mechanism shown in Figs. 3 and 5. 1

Referring to the folding mechanism, this comprises a positioning member denoted generally.

secured to the pivot member I8 and at the other end to pins in the side plates. To limit the upper movement of the positioning member I0 a stop member I4 is provided positioned between the side plates and covered with resilient material, as indicated.

For folding the top of the bag a hinge "device, shown in Figs. 2 and 9 to 12, inclusive, is provided. This hinge device, denoted generally by 8|, comprises a rear plate 82 and a forward plate 83 mounted upon a shaft 84. The shaft 84 is mounted in end plates 85 which are movable vertically in slots I8I in the main side plates. Springs 86 resiliently hold the shaft 84 in uppermost position. A coil spring 284 surrounds the shaft 84 and yieldably holds the plates 82 and 83 apart.

For controlling the position of the rear plate 82 a pair of puller members 88 are provided pivoted to the rear plate 82 and to arms 89 which are secured to cooperating shaft 50.

For controlling the position of the forward plate 83 a pair of radius members 9i are provided pivoted at 92 to the main side plates and at 93 to the forward hinge plate.

For downwardly pushing the entire hinge assembly a pair of pushers 95 are provided mounted upon the operating shaft 90. Springs 94 yieldably hold the radius arms 9| in the position shown and springs 96 yieldably hold the pushers 95 in the positions shown in Fig. 2.

For driving the operating shaft a cam follower 99 is provided, this cam follower being driven by cam 98 mounted upon the drive shaft 60. Drive shaft 80 also supports a trip cam 91 which engages a follower 80 mounted upon the reduced end I! of shaft member "I6 of the positionlng member I0.

As the bag, indicated by I80 in Fig. 2, is pushed along upon table 31 by the register plates 34, it is operated upon by the folding mechanism just described, the operation being described hereinafter, This folds down the top of the bag which then passes under the plate I01 to the tape applying mechanism illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5.

The tape applying mechanism comprises a combined applying device and cutter indicated by I00. This member is mounted upon a pivot I05 and it is yieldably held in the position shown in Fig. 3 by springs I08. 3

The member I00 is preferably made U-shaped, having side arms I04 which are connected at their lower ends, as indicated at 304. Secured to the end 304 is, the cutting blade I02 which may be slightly pointed. as indicated in Fig. 7 and a pair of rounded spring fingers IOI. Pivoted between the side arms I04 is a roller I03.

The tape is supported on a roll indicated by I08 in Fig. 1 above the operating head 22. The

tape, which may be any suitable sealing tape.

either of paper or cloth, having adhesive gum on one side thereof, is indicated by I09 and passes down an inclined guide IIO mounted on suitable cross rods 2. The gummed side of the tape is up and wipes against a wick I I I, which may be held against the tape by a small spring 3, if desired. The tape passes over a roller 200 and back of the applying roller I03, as shown in Fig. 3.

For keeping the wick III'wet a water reservoir is provided, made up of an inverted glass jar II5 held'by a support 8. Screw threaded upon the bottom of the jar H5 is a cap II3 having a vertical guide II4 secured thereto, which is perflliiiated to allow the water to saturate the wick For pressing the gummed tape tightly onto the bag after it has been treated by the apparatus described above, a compound member, indicated by 300 in Fig. 3 is provided. This comprises a forwardarm I20 pivoted at II8 to supports mounted on the top plate I01. It will be noted that the top plate I0! is cut away to permit the operation of the members I80 and 300.

Pivoted to the forward member I20 is a rear member I I9, the pivot being at I23. The shape of the members H9 and I prevents their approach to any position closer than that indicated in Fig. 3. To yieldably prevent their separation a leaf spring I24 is secured to rear member I I9. The actionof this member is illustrated, for example, in Fig. 14.

The members H9 and I20 support rollers I2I and I22 for a purpose hereinafter described. For holding the entire compound member 300 in the proper position. to engage the bag as it comes along a rod I2! is slidably mounted in support I29 which is secured to local cross members. A coil spring I28 surrounding rod I21 and acting between the collar I30 and the upper support I29 yieldably urges the rod I21 downwardly.

To operate the machine, it will be understood that the bag, which may be made of paper, is first filled and weighed, either by hand or by automatic means (not shown). The bag is then jarred either by hand oreby automatic means (not shown) to settle the coffeeor other pulverulent material. The end creases of the bag are then tucked in either by hand or by machine (not shown) so that the top of the bag appears as indicated in Fig. 15. The bag which has been filledwith material is then placed upon the feed table 31 where it remains until it is engaged by a register plate 34, as indicated in Fig. 2. This slides the bag along in the direction of the arrow, carrying it against the hinge device 8|, which is open.

to receive the top thereof, as indicated in Fig. 2.

It will be understood that the folding apparatus is in time with the conveyor so that the operations occur at the proper time.

As the top of the bagmoves into the open hinge the positioning member 10 quickly takes the position shown in Fig. 9, firmly folding the top of the bag, as shown. The positioning member I0 immediately retracts and the rear hinge plate moves down to the position shown in Fig. 10, folding the top of thebag still further.-

As thebag I60 continues to move along in the direction of the arrow, the pusher members 95 push downwardly on the hinge device and the puller members 88 pull on the bottom of the hinge device, causing the latter to take the position first as shown in Fig. 11 and then as shown in Fig.

position to be engaged by the bag, the roller I 03 pressing the end of the tape firmly against the front of the bag. As the bag moves along still further,the roller I03 swings up the forward surthen slides across the top of the bag, the curved fingers IOI preventing the knife I02 from cutting the tape. The bag then engages the roller I 22, as indicated in Fig. 13.

As the bag moves still further the roller I22 further presses the tapeonto the bag and when the bag rides out from .under the curved fingers IN, the member I00 suddenly drops, causing the deep notches 36 in the register plates 34 permit the action of the rollers HI and I22 and also the action of roller I03.

The bag is then delivered from-the conveyor by any suitable delivery means (not shown) and is ready for shipment.

An advantage of this machine is its ability to be usedwith different sizes of bags containing different weights of merchandise. It is only necessary to adjust the height of the operating head 22 by the hand wheel 53 to meet the heights of different bags. The width of the bag or the length from front to rear within the limits of the machine does not affect the operation of the machine nor require special machine adjustment:

This machine is suitable for' creasing, and

applying tape to, any kind of paper bag which -has a top which can be folded in the manner described above.- Furthermore, the bags may contain pulverulent material such as coffee or any other kind of merchandise which might be recited tape to the bag eliminates hand labor for this purpose and results in a great saving.

While certain novel features of the invention have been disclosed and are pointed out in the annexed claims, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for folding paper bags and the like, a hinge-like device comprising a pivot, a rear hinge plate and a forward hinge plate mounted on said pivot, means for bringing said plates together to fold over on itself the top of the bag between said plates, and means for moving said plates as thus brought together fiatwise against the top of the body of the bag to fold the folded bag'top against the body of the bag.

2. In a machine for folding paper bags and the like, a hinge-like device comprising a pivot, a rear hingeplate and a forward hinge plate mounted on said pivot, said rear hinge plate normally having an upward position and said forward hinge plate normally having a depending position to receive-the top of the bag to be folded, means for tucking the bag top in the angle formed by said plates, means for moving downwardly said rear plate to fold the bag top and to clamp it between' the plates, means for progressively moving the bag past said devices, means for moving said pivot downwardly as the bag progresses to cause said plates to follow the bag and to fold said folded bag top against the top of the body of the bag,

further movement of said bag withdrawing the folded portions from between said plates.

3. In a machine for folding the tops of paper bags and the like a hingedevice comprising a pivot, a vertical slide for said pivot, forward and rear hinge plates mounted on said pivot, a conveyor for moving bags of merchandise having tops to be folded under said device, a positioning member for tucking the bag top into the angle formed by theinitial position of said plates, a puller member attached to said rear plate, a spring member normally holding said pivot in its upper position, a radius member pivoted to said forward plate, an operating shaft having an armattached thereto, said arm being pivoted to said puller member, a pusher member connected to said shaftfor pushing down on said pivot, a cam follower on said shaft, 9. second shaft supporting said positioning member, a second cam follower on said second shaft, a cam shaft, cams on said shaft engaging said followers, respectively, spring means for immediately returning said positioning member to normal position after it has tucked in said bag top, said plates'following said bag a limited distance, furthermovement of the bag withdrawing the folded top thereof from between said plates.

4. In a machine for folding the tops of paper bags and the like, a hinge device comprising a pivot, a vertical slide for said pivot, forward and rear hinge plates mounted on said pivot, a conveyor for moving bags of merchandise having tops to be folded under said device, a positioning member for tucking the bag top into the angle formed by the;"initial position of said plates, a puller member attached to said rear plate, a spring member normally holding said pivot in its upper. position, a radius member pivoted to said forward plate, an operating shaft having an arm attached thereto, said arm being pivoted to said puller member, a pusher member connected to said shaft for pushing said pivot down said slide,

a cam follower on said shaft, a second shaft supporting said positioning member, a second cam follower on said second shaft, a cam shaft, cams on said shaft engaging said followers, respectively.

5. In a combined folding and tape-applying machine for paper bags and the like, a conveyor member comprising a feed plate, a pair of spaced endlesschains having their plys above and below said plate, register members connecting said chains, an operating head above said conveyor, means for adjusting the height of said operating head, a power drive device for driving said operating head and conveyor, movable devices on said operating head for folding the tops of bagscontaining merchandise, and devices on said operating head for applying tape to the bags with their tops thus folded, said tape-applying device cutting a separate length of tape for each bag and having the length of tape controlled by the distance across the top of each bag.

6. In a combined folding and tape-applying machine for paper bags and the like, a conveyor member comprising a feed plate, a pair of spaced endless chains having their plys above and below said plate, E cross members connecting said chains, register plates attached to said cross members and having projecting feet sliding along said feed plate, said register plates having deep notches in the middle of their upper edges, an operating head above said conveyor, means for adjusting the height of said operating head, a power drive device for driving said operating head and conveyor, devices on said operating head for folding the tops of bags containing merchandise, said bags being pushed along said feed plate by said register plates, and devices on said operating head for applying tape to the bags with their tops thus folded.

7. In an apparatus for packing merchandise in bags, a conveyor for moving the bags partially filled with merchandise with the tops of the bags projecting, an operating head above said conveyor for receiving the tops of the bags, a movable member, a pair of plates pivoted on said movable member for engaging the tops of each bag and folding the same upon itself and positioning said folded top down substantially in contact with the folded portion of the bag, means on said head for applying tape to the top of said bag as thus folded and positioned.

' 8. An apparatus for packing merchandise in bags, a conveyor for moving the bags partially filled with merchandise with the tops of the bags projecting, an operating head above said conveyor for receiving the tops of said bags, two plates supported upon said head for engaging and folding the top of each bag upon itself and there after downward substantially into contact with the filled portion of said bag, said folding and positioning of the top being accomplished while said bag is in motion, said members mounted to pivotally fold against each other and to thereafter be moved to a substantially horizontal position, and means on said head for applying tape to the top of the bag as thus folded and positioned.

ARTHUR F. STAGMEIER. 

